Slow war

Released August 15, 2017 by McGill-Queen's University Press.

Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award, the Raymond Souster Award, and recipient of the Stephan G. Stephansson Award.
 

"We are occasionally lucky enough to encounter a writer we need, like Benjamin Hertwig, who offers solidarity while challenging our assumptions, who illuminates and shades our lives in surprising ways. After reading these poems I can’t imagine a world without them."
—John K. Samson, musician and editor, author of Lyrics and Poems, 1997–2012

"This hard-hitting debut collection is the record of a soldier’s heart, before, during and after war" —Toronto Star

“In his quiet way, Benjamin Hertwig shows us the terror and wonder of being alive. Slow War is a powerful exploration of violence, longing, and the before and after of ‘time and war and other old gods.’ A profound and beautiful book.” —Deborah Campbell, winner of the 2016 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for A Disappearance in Damascus

“I know of few books that deal with the experience of combat in such a humane and almost tender way. Benjamin Hertwig’s Slow War is a powerful and moving work of art.” —John Skoyles, poetry editor of Ploughshares, author of Suddenly It’s Evening

Hertwig's collection builds toward a tender reconstruction that resists being overwrought."—Domenica Martinello, Canadian Notes & Queries

"When it comes to Canadian war literature, Slow War is the new required reading"—Noah Cain, Prairie Fire Magazine